Freezing Fire
by Bohemian Storm
Summary: The battle's over, but Severus Snape has lost something which can't be replaced and he'll walk forever to get it back.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or their world. That belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
~*~  
  
  
Severus Snape stood alone and stared blankly into the flames that raged between him and her. His robes were signed, the ends blacker than they had ever been, smoking slightly even after he'd put out the fire. His eyes were emotionless for once in his life, nothing flickered in the black orbs as he stared at the blonde man who held Hermione Granger in his arms. His arms were slack, his wand barely hanging from his fingers. He didn't know what to do, he had no comprehension of what was going on before him. The war had come down to a fight outside of Hogwarts and Lucius Malfoy now had Hermione Granger's limp body dangling in his arms. How she got there, Severus couldn't have said, but his brain told him he should do something.  
  
Lucius tossed Severus a grin and he moved away into the black night. He disappeared a moment later, the flames closing over him as he carried Hermione away from the battle. Severus remained motionless and he blinked, staring at the place Lucius had been only moments before. Questions flashed through his blank mind in a sudden onslaught and Severus dropped to his knees, still staring. He was at a loss, his body felt as if it had died and that his mind and soul were floating free, high above the raging war and fire. Severus didn't feel as if he was still in his body, his limbs were heavy and numb, all he wanted to do was close his eyes and go to sleep.   
  
Another thought flashed through his mind, this one of Hermione. It took him a moment to remember that Lucius had taken her somewhere, he had carried her off the battlefield only seconds earlier. He had to do something or she might die, her life lay in his hands.  
  
Severus stood, swaying unsteadily as he approached the furious fire. His hand stretched out before him, the wand still held in his fingers, and he watched silently as the flames licked at his skin. He couldn't feel it, couldn't feel the heat that he knew had to be radiating toward him. The orange flames danced and jumped, but his skin remained cold and dead. It wasn't right. He was still human, after all, he should burn. His hands should have burned, but instead they remained blocks of ice.   
  
  
~I touch the fire and it freezes me  
I look into it and it's black  
Why can't I feel  
My skin should crack and peel  
I want the fire back~  
  
  
Hermione. Her name woke him from his trance, his black eyes focusing on something beyond the fire that couldn't burn hot enough to warm him. She was out there somewhere in the arms of a madman and Severus was the only one who knew. He had been the only one to see Lucius carry her off, through the curses that were still being flung at both sides.   
  
She had become almost faceless, the embodiment of every fallen student, every student he's been harsh to. She wasn't just Hermione Granger, there were more and Severus has to prove himself.   
  
A flash of green streaked past Severus, but he barely cast it a glance as he moved through the flames. His robe caught fire again, but he simple shrugged it off and continued through, unable to feel the heat around him. He hated that he couldn't feel, but he ignored it, knowing he had a mission to complete before he could hate anything again. The others wouldn't understand his motivation, but they didn't matter anymore. Too many had fallen that night, Severus wasn't about to lose another one. Not when he had the chance to save her, a chance to save all of them.  
  
  
~Now through the smoke she calls to me  
To make my way across the flame  
To save the day   
Or maybe melt away  
I guess it's all the same~  
  
  
His shoes melted in the flames, his clothing signed and burning. Severus' wand caught on fire and in moments in was completely consumed, the fire flickering against his skin as it devoured the wood in his fingers. It ate away at the sleeves of his stiff shirt, trying desperately to burn the skin beneath, but nothing could reach him. Nothing would stop him.  
  
Lucius seemed so far away, his blonde hair the only indication that Severus was on the right track. He would follow them to the ends of the earth if he had to, anything to save her. It was time for him to forget about himself, the forget that his heart had long since been frozen and that he could no longer feel. Severus had to concentrate on Hermione, he had to focus on getting her back. She would die without his help, he had no time to realize that the fire had begun to eat away at his hair.   
  
He walked on.  
  
  
~So I will walk through the fire  
'Cause where else can I turn  
I will walk through the fire  
And let it burn~  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Ron Weasley touched his best friend's shoulder and he pointed across the battle field. Harry Potter's eyes followed Ron's hand and he found himself staring upon the pitiful form of their Potions Master. He was plodding along slowly, flames eating away at his clothing and hair. The fire did nothing to stop him though, and he continued, his black eyes glazed over as he moved. Harry had a feeling nothing could stop him.  
  
"What's he doing?" Ron asked. "The war is over. We've won."  
  
Harry squinted, staring at him. "I think he's looking for something. Or someone."  
  
"They're all here," Ron said, waving a hand to the students and professors behind him. "If they're not here then they're . . ." he trailed off as he struggled with the word.  
  
"Dead," Harry finished for him. His eyes followed Severus as the man walked away, his hands limp by his side. "I wonder who he's looking for."  
  
"He will find it," a comforting voice said from nearby and Harry turned to see Dumbledore staring after Severus as well. "He has lost a great many things over these past few weeks," the Headmaster continued. "A great many things, Harry."  
  
Ron couldn't help his customary snort. "His sanity, for one."  
  
Dumbledore regarded him gravely. "Perhaps, Mr. Weasley. One can never be too sure. Who knows what Severus might see."  
  
They turned to look after the man in black, all falling silent as he travelled away from them.   
  
"He has frozen himself from us over the years," Dumbledore said softly. "He needs to find what he once lost before he can return to us."  
  
"What is he looking for?" Harry wondered again.  
  
"Why doesn't the fire burn him?" a new voice asked and Dumbledore regarded the girl with sad eyes. Hermione Granger looked up expectantly, waiting for an answer.  
  
"I cannot tell you," Dumbledore said. "I do not know the power that losing your mind can have."  
  
She gazed at Dumbledore, then turned her eyes to Severus. "Whatever it is, I hope he finds it," she said.   
  
"As do I," Dumbledore said softly.  
  
  
~So one by one they turn from me  
I guess they all can't face the cold  
But why I froze  
Not one among them knows  
And never can be told~  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
The cold gripped him, but he refused to fall to it. It pulled him backward, but he fought onward. He would find her, he would save her and he would save himself. The cold would never win, he needed the fire. He wanted the fire to burn him inside and out, it would save his soul.   
  
Severus Snape walked through the flames and he would continue until he found what he had lost. Only he knew exactly what that was.  
  
  
~And we are caught in the fire  
The point of no return  
So we will walk through the fire  
And let it burn~  
  
  
End  
  
The song belongs to Joss Whedon, I changed some words to fit the scenario. This was a very different style for me but ... I kinda like it. :) Let me know what you think. 


End file.
